The idea behind the Coil Club is that all authors should be able to have a fair shot at good publicity. We know, of course, that this is not a reality for most indie, and even major, authors. That’s where we come in. The Coil is a flat-rate personal publicity service headed by Director of Publicity, Leah Angstman. Publicity can easily cost thousands of dollars. But with the flat-rate system, authors pay an affordable entry fee to have their work read and considered, and if selected, pay nothing further for the basic publicity package and receive deep discounts for any additional services that they might like on top of the basic package, without obligation. We pitch the book to bloggers and reviewers, set up a book blog tour, talk it up on social media across multiple outlets, give the author a personal publicist, set up interviews, make the book a book club selection, work toward getting the book in stores, libraries, and universities, and more. ALL books are welcome, whether breathing life into an older title, looking for a new audience for self-published works, or marketing a new release.

How It Works:

1. Authors, presses, agents, or friends and family, submit their books. There is no limit on the number of books you can submit. There is no limit to genre, length, style, publication methods, dates of publication, or any other factors. You may submit galleys if your book is forthcoming, but only when it is slated for actual publication; do not send drafts or manuscripts that have not been picked up or slated for publication within the next six months. This is a program for already-published books or books that are just about to get published. If you are seeking a publisher for your manuscript, see our submissions page instead. If you are seeking publicity packages that are not exclusive to Coil Club members, see our publicity services page instead.

2. There are three parts to the application, and you can submit them in several different ways, whichever is most convenient for you: a digital file of your book, an application form, and a $29.99 entry fee PER BOOK, not per author. For the easiest method, you can submit the form, fee, and file all together via our Submittable page. If you’d prefer to pay via PayPal, credit/debit card, or e-check, you can pay through PayPal here, then submit your form and file online here. If you’d prefer to pay via cash, check, or money order, you can submit your form and file online here, then send your payment MADE OUT TO ANGSTMAN ARTS, to Alternating Current, PO Box 183, Palo Alto, CA 94302; make sure your author name is somewhere on your envelope, check, or money order, so we can pair them up in-house.

3. Once payment and digital files are received, we send each book submission through a selection process that first consists of being read and discussed by an external reading panel (not affiliated with Alternating Current, other than through this process) with a wide range of experience and tastes, after which the vote must be unanimous in order for the book to pass on to our editors. Please note that this is not a blind process, and the panel is very likely to take external things into consideration, such as reviews, website and social media presence, how hard an author has promoted his works, etc.

4. If the book passes the panel, then submitters have one more step, and that is that we require all authors who reach the second round to submit one physical copy of the book to us at Alternating Current, PO Box 183, Palo Alto, CA 94302. (If your book is digital-only, then we will address that at this stage.) The book is then read by the Alternating Current Editorial Department, and if our vote is also unanimous, then we provide publicity for the book through our partners and through other outlets AT NO ADDITIONAL COST, alongside provided discounts for other promotional services that are exclusive only to the books we select.
5. If you are selected, then great things happen for you (See below.). We throw our all into the books we promote. If you are not selected, then great things still happen (See below.). We don’t send anyone home empty-handed, and all books, whether accepted into Coil Club or not, are still considered for The Coil Book Award for Best Book in the Independent Press (up to $1,000 in cash and prizes) and book club selections, and are still given reviews and indie spotlights on our blog and some social media love.

Why is the process so rigorous? Because our time is extremely valuable, and although there are many, many talented authors out there, time dictates that we can only afford to lend our collective voice to a select few of them. We have a harder time promoting things that we don’t absolutely love, so this process helps ensure that we only promote what we can 100% stand behind.

Give It a Shot:

If you are selected, you automatically receive:

• 5-stop book blog tour.

• Giveaway and discussion in our book club.

• Professional press kit.

• Professional book club reading guide kit.

• An assigned publicist who seeks reviews & interviews.

• Listing on our website as a Coil Book Selection.

• Press release sent to all our partners, media, and mailing lists, with follow-up for potential promotion.

• Deep members-only discounts on non-exclusive publicity services, such as additional book blog tours, audiobook recording, book trailers, merchandising, editing and critiquing services, future submissions to the press, and more.

• Deep members-only discounts on exclusive publicity services for the selected book only, such as physical book tours.

• Social networking on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, and Ello. Two to five posts per week for a year across multiple networks and accounts, without spamming.

• Automatic entry into the running for The Coil Book Award, decided by a separate reading panel and carrying multiple monetary prizes (up to $1,000) and other valuable rewards.

• An interview on The Inductor, a Meet the Press spotlight on The Transmitter, and a book review on The Volt.

• We follow you on your social networks, and retweet and share your successes.

• We work tirelessly to get your book reviewed and featured, to get you into bookstores, libraries, and universities as part of our ever-growing partner program, and to find contests and awards that suit your book.

If you aren’t selected, you still receive:

• The potential for selection and discussion in our book club, chosen by a separate panel.

• Discounts on non-exclusive publicity services, such as book blog tours, audiobook recordings, book trailers, merchandising, editing and critiquing services, submissions to the press, and more.

• Social networking on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Goodreads, and Ello. One post per week for two months across multiple networks and accounts.

• Automatic entry into the running for The Coil Book Award, decided by a separate reading panel and carrying multiple monetary prizes (up to $1,000) and other valuable rewards.

• Access for six months to our private members-only Twitter aggregator feed of the most comprehensive list of author resources, open submissions, agents, publishers, grants, contests, awards, residencies, et al., that we can find, updated constantly.

• A book review on The Volt or a spotlight blurb on The Beam.

• We follow you on your social networks, and retweet and share your successes.

• A complimentary ebook copy of our fantastic literary journal of over 100 pieces of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction by 40 authors, Poiesis Review #6, as our way of saying thanks for taking the chance.